


Suitors Collection

by Soulmateshinki



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, SasuNaru - Freeform, leenaru, mostly tumblr drabbles, too many men are in love with naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 07:03:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20926106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulmateshinki/pseuds/Soulmateshinki
Summary: Collection of drabbles featuring Naruto and his many boyfriends/husbandsChapter 1: LeeNaru - Naruto can't sleep and Lee is a great friendChapter 2: SasuNaru - Change is awkward





	1. RUN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LeeNaru - Naruto can't sleep and Lee is a great friend

Every morning, before the sun peaks through the horizon, Rock Lee sprints down the quiet streets of Konoha, making his way around the entire village before coming to a stop in front of the main gates to enjoy the sunrise while performing a number of abstract stretches Gai Sensei had taught him. Every morning he passes by Uzumaki Naruto’s apartment, something that Lee didn’t usually take note of until one particular morning he spots Naruto standing in his jutting green balcony, elbows resting against the railing as he stares out into the barely lit village.

Refraining from calling out to his fellow colleague, mindful of the sleeping village around him, he waves frantically at Naruto. Unfortunately, the other boy seems too deep in thought to notice anything, gaze still set into the distance.

_Maybe he’s got something important on his mind_, thinks Lee before deciding not to bother his friend and continuing on his morning routine.

Surprisingly, despite the early hours, Naruto is in his balcony yet again the next day, in almost the same exact stance, leaning against the railing, hair gently blowing in the morning breeze.

The third day he spots Naruto, Lee jumps from one protruding ledge to another of the buildings around him, light footed, until he reaches the balcony.

“Good morn_—_“

“WHA!” Apparently Naruto hadn’t sensed him because he whirls around at the sound of Lee’s voice, eyes wide.

“What the hell, bushy brows?!”

“I’m sorry, Naruto-kun, I thought you noticed me coming up. I just wanted to say good morning.”

Standing this close, Lee can see quite clearly the dark circles under Naruto’s bloodshot eyes.

“Good morning,” Naruto mutters. “Why are you up so early, anyway?”

“I try to run at least one lap around the village each morning,” Lee beams. “It’s a great way to start out the day, and also I get to see the beautiful sunrise.”

Following Naruto back into his room, Lee watches as he takes out a cup ramen, filling it with water before sticking it into the microwave.

“Are you alright, Naruto-kun? I don’t usually see you up at this time.”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve just been having trouble getting any sleep recently.”

It seems so off, that hollowness in Naruto’s voice, the way his shoulders are drooping, how thoroughly tired he looks. It’s not a view of Naruto that Lee’s used to seeing, such a far cry from the boy whose energy usually rivals Lee’s own.

“Might I suggest going for a run? It’s great for meditation, really clears the mind. Maybe a nighttime run could clear your mind enough for a good night’s sleep. I would be happy to join you as well!”

Setting his cup ramen breakfast on the table, Naruto turns to Lee. “How does running clear your mind?”

“Please accompany me tonight, and I will show you!”

“Alright, jeez, you don’t have to make it sound so weird. I’ll meet you at the front gates around 8?”

“See you there, Naruto-kun.”

* * *

By the time Naruto makes his way up to the entrance of the village it’s dark and Lee’s already standing by the giant double doors, one leg hitched high on the wall near him as he reaches up to touch his toes, stretching his muscles.

Upon spotting his companion, he dislodges from the wall and jogs up to Naruto.

“Ready to go, Naruto-kun?”

Before Lee can fully reach him, Naruto sprints into an alleyway. “Just try and keep up, bushy brows!”

Through the almost pitch black, narrow alley and down the dimly lit street that it leads to, Naruto runs as fast as he can, aware of Lee only a few paces behind him. Wind cards though his clothes and tousles his hair aggressively as he speeds past familiar shops and restaurants.

“Naruto-kun,” he hears Lee call out, “this isn’t a race! You’re supposed find a steady rhythm of running and enjoy your surroundings as you find balance within yourself.”

_The hell does that mean_, Naruto thinks, letting Lee close the distance between them. They run almost side by side down several different streets, past Sakura-chan’s house, Ino’s flower shop, and the Nara residence. Naruto breathes steadily. At some point the running had become almost automatic, his mind less and less aware of the action as his legs just pulled him forward. For a while it’s just the sound of their feet hitting the ground, their breathing, the wind rushing past his ears, the scattered streetlights, and the flurry of stars above them. Strangely, _it is_ a bit calming.

Whatever “peace” he had built up, though, is suddenly broken as the Uchiha compound comes into view. All too abruptly something, several things, switch on inside him, tearing him too quickly out of the serenity he had fostered, invasive thoughts crashing into his head. His breath hitches, and he can feel Lee staring at him. Before the other boy can say anything, Naruto bolts past the compound, suddenly out of breath, his muscles burning. Still, he runs ahead with every ounce of energy, with everything he has, almost blindly surging forward, vaguely aware of Lee’s voice.

_Don’t fucking follow me right now_

He doesn’t want to clear his head. He doesn’t want to sleep. He doesn’t want peace or comfort because he doesn’t deserve it. He hadn’t been able to fix a single thing, not one damn thing. If anything, things had just gotten progressively worse. His lungs are burning, chest tightening painfully, almost fully cutting off his air as he collapses into a grassy area, doubling over, fists full of grass and dirt, forehead against the ground as he tries in vain to take in oxygen.

_It hurts, Sasuke…._

* * *

Lee watches as Naruto falls to the ground and sprints faster towards the boy. At first he thinks Naruto’s fainted, but as he reaches him, Lee can see him shaking, curled up and gasping for air.

“Naruto-kun!”

Dropping to the ground beside him, Lee pulls his friend into his arms, rubbing his back. “It’s alright, Naruto-kun. It’s ok.”

Lee’s had a panic attack before. It’s a rather strange thing, suddenly losing control of your mind and body, equally painful and confusing. He’d experienced it one night at the hospital as a genin, the reality that, despite his best efforts, he might never be the shinobi he’d always dreamt about becoming sinking in all too quickly. A nurse and Gai sensei had helped him through it.

Head in the crook of Lee’s neck, Naruto’s still trying and failing to catch his breath, whimpering as his body heaves, grabbing onto Lee’s arms, trying to find some sort of anchor.

“I’m right here,” Lee continues to rub Naruto’s back, feeling Naruto’s nails dig into the skin. He cards his fingers though Naruto’s sweat drenched hair. “You’re fine. Keep breathing. Deep breaths. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

As some point Naruto’s ragged breathing turns into sobbing and Lee holds him tighter, letting the other boy lean fully against his body. They stay there like that, Lee’s bandaged arms wrapped around his friend, watching the stars as Naruto’s body relaxes more and more against his own, the sobbing now reduced to a few sniffles. Reaching into the pocket of his vest, Lee pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to Naruto.

“Thanks,” Naruto finally says, voice hoarse, marked with a tinge of embarrassment. His face is still hidden in Lee’s shoulder, but Lee can feel Naruto’s body becoming more rigid in his hold, perhaps becoming increasingly aware of their intimate position.

“No problem, Naruto-kun,” he replies, “I’m happy to help. And don’t be embarrassed! Crying is healthy a part of our springtime of youth.”

“Springtime of youth,” Naruto mumbles, picking his head up, wiping the remaining tears away with the back of his hand. “If someone saw us like this so late at night, I don’t know what they’d think.”

“Don’t worry, I kept a look out, and I didn’t see anyone. Even if someone did see us, we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I mean, people might start weird rumors about us or something…. I’m sorry if they do.”

“I don’t care,” Lee assures him. “I’ve heard people say a lot worse about me before. Hearing that I’m dating a cute person isn’t really bad at all.”

Even in the dark, Lee can see the pink spread across Naruto’s cheeks as he gawks at him. “I_—_wha_— __who_ are calling cute?!”

“I only meant, it’s just that, your face after you’ve cried is very cute, and I like cute girls. That’s why I like Sakura-san!” Naruto stands up, the shade of pink in his face getting increasingly darker. “You aren’t a girl, but I think you’re also very cute and I just mean_—_ “

“_Shut up_, bushy brows.”

Lee trails after him as Naruto speeds towards his home, ears searing. Before Lee can apologize for embarrassing him, Naruto glances over at him and speaks.

“F-first, you like Sakura-chan and I like Sakura-chan which means we’re rivals in love so don’t go saying weird things to me. Second…do you want to eat something with me, probably ramen cause that’s all I really have at home, but I’m really hungry right now.”

* * *

Halfway through finishing his cup of ramen, Naruto all but falls asleep mid conversation. Lee gently pushes him to bed before pulling a blanket over him.

He stares at the sleeping boy for a moment. Though he had a good idea about what had caused Naruto’s break down, eyes sweeping over the photo of team 7 his friend always kept by his bedside, he never actually got to talk to Naruto about it.

Fishing around for a pen and taking the lid of Naruto’s ramen cup, Lee scribbles a note on the paper before leaving it beside the bedside table and seeing himself out.

_“Naruto-kun, please have lunch with me tomorrow. I will take you to Ichiraku.”_


	2. Campfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> change is awkward

Embers floating up from the campfire crackling in front of him, the earthy scent of the forest mixed with the smell of toasted marshmallows, the chatter of all his friends, the light night breeze, it all created the perfect atmosphere of relaxation yet here he was, sitting awkwardly on a log, torn between wanting to go bicker with his best friend and hoping to avoid him for the rest of his life.

A gentle push at his side pulls him out of his thoughts. “Are you going to tell me what happened or not,” Sakura asks in a quiet voice, careful not to be heard by the people around them.

Naruto shakes his head almost reflexively. He’s not sure if he means “no, I don’t want to talk about it” or “I’m fine, nothing’s wrong”. Sakura’s too astute to believe the latter anyway. Sighing, she leans her head on his shoulder. “Ok, listen. It’s been two whole weeks. I gave you time to talk to me, but you didn’t so I’m going to talk now and you listen. Sasuke confessed to you.” She says the last line in an extra hushed tone.

He shouldn’t be surprised that Sakura’s figured it out, but Naruto still wants to jump up and run, or hide somewhere, just do anything but have this conversation, especially not with the girl who had been in love with Sasuke for as long as he could remember.

Naruto keeps his eyes on the flames as Sakura continues. “I’m going to be clear and direct with you right now. I used to like Sasuke-kun. A lot. I would like to say I’m over it, but the truth is that I’m still in the process of getting over it. Regardless, I’m absolutely clear about the fact that I don’t and never did have a chance with him. He was never going to see me as anything more than a friend, and I accept it. So, Naruto, if you feel weird talking to me about this, I understand, but,” she places a hand over Naruto’s, “just know that you aren’t doing anything wrong by me. Not a single thing. I want to be friends with the both of you. That’s all. And I also just want to help.”

Tilting his head to the side, he rests his cheek lightly on top of her head. “Thanks, Sakura-chan…. thank you.”

“Alright, so now that that’s out of the way, talk. He confessed and now what? You’ve decided to avoid him?”

Naruto’s acutely aware of Sasuke sitting on a log on the opposite side of the fire, leaning forward, elbows braced on his thighs, nodding a few times at whatever story Kiba was enthusiastically recounting to him, constantly glancing up at Naruto and averting his eyes whenever he thought Naruto would return the gaze.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell him. I don’t know the answer.” Sitting up straight, Naruto rubs his palm over his face, looking over at Sasuke. Illuminated by the fire, hair tied back in a small pony-tail, Sasuke looked striking, even more so than usual.

“But it’s not a no,” Naruto mumbles, staring down at his hands, the right one tightly bandaged, matching Sasuke’s left.

“It’s not a no?” Sakura repeats his words.

“When he told me that—uh—when he confessed to me, he asked if there’s even a chance I might think of him as more than just a friend. He said he can be patient, and we can figure things out together if I wanted.” Once more Naruto glances over at Sasuke. “I didn’t say anything back then.”

Sakura slides a hand over his shoulder, “But the answer isn’t no? His feelings aren’t one-sided?”

“It feels—it’s just—it’s weird. I don’t know how to go from best friends to more than that. It even sounds funny in my head. And I don’t want to think about how everyone’s gonna react to us, but…also…I don’t think I want him to give up on me either.”

“Naruto, in all honesty, you two have been more than friends already for a while now, and you’d be surprised at how many people can see that. As far as reactions go, I don’t think you have to be too concerned. And maybe you haven’t kissed or gone on dates or whatever.” Seeing Naruto’s ears quickly turning an increasingly darker shade of pink, she grins. “Oh, wait, no, you two already had your first kiss a long time ago. Didn’t you?” She laughs, watching the blush spread to her friend’s cheeks.

“But, be honest with yourself. He’s meant more to you than a friend or best friend for a long time.”

“I know that. It’s what I’ve been thinking about these past couple of weeks. And I’ve realized that I don’t want him to give up on me, at least not yet.” Looking down at his bandaged hand again, he traces the lines of the wrappings. “But it’s still…confusing.”

“Well, he said he wants to figure it out together didn’t he? It’s ok to not have everything figured out right now.” Reaching over, she takes his right hand in both her own. “Most importantly, Naruto, no matter what, everything else aside, you two are best friends_._ The world will end before that bond breaks. So talk to him. Stop avoiding him like this because both of you look like shit when you’re deprived of each other.”

“Naruto, Sakura, can I sit here?” A familiar deep voice interrupts their conversation, and Naruto looks up to see Sasuke, hands in his pocket, ducking his head when Naruto meets his eyes.

“Sasuke-kun!.” Smiling, Sakura jumps up and gestures at where she had been sitting. “Sit down, I actually have to go talk to Ino about something.” With that she pats Naruto’s head and walks off.

Despite the invitation, Sasuke doesn’t move until Naruto motions for him to have a sit as well.

Picking up one of the long, thin twigs laid out around the fire and sliding two large marshmallows onto it, Naruto holds the stick over the flames, an attempts to distract himself from the fact that Sasuke’s now a couple of inches away from him, the closest he’s been in the past two weeks.

“Hey,” Sasuke begins, fidgeting with his hands, “sorry for breaking up your conversation.”

_No matter what, everything else aside, you two are best friends. The world will end before that bond breaks._

“Yeah and I was having such a good time talking with Sakura-chan.” Naruto turns to him, pouting exaggeratedly. “Buy me ramen tomorrow to make up for it.”

Sasuke blinks at him a couple of times before suppressing a smile and rolling his eyes. “Fine.”

* * *

Sometime between a round of campfire stories, Kiba and Lee getting into a marshmallow fight, Shino showing off a new dance performance he had taught his beetles, and Ino chasing Shino around with a stick when one beetles jumps into her shirt, Naruto ends up sitting on the ground between Sasuke’s knees. Maybe it was from being in a partial food coma as a result of the massive amount of chocolate and marshmallows he had consumed or the cozy warmth of the fire muffling his senses, but, in the moment, he couldn’t be bothered to worry about the tension between him and Sasuke.

Another round of campfire stories is instigated by Sakura, mostly in an effort to get Ino to stop trying to maim Shino with the stick. And, somewhere along the way, the story-telling evolves into a rowdy game of truth or dare.

“Alright, Naruto, truth of dare,” Kiba asks, a glint in his eyes that Naruto misses when he yells an enthusiastic “dare” in reply.

“I know you two have had a fight or something the past couple weeks because you’ve been avoiding Sasuke like the plague.”

“No, we hav—“

“Don’t even try to deny it,” Kiba cuts Naruto off, “It’s obvious, what with the excessive amount of moping and all. Anyway, your dare is to kiss and make up.”

“We’ve already made up,” Sasuke replies.

“Good, then kiss,” Kiba retorts.

“That’s such an immature dare, Kiba.” Naruto hears Sakura say. “What are we? Thirteen?”

“No, it’s fine,” Naruto announces as Sakura gives him a surprised look. “It’s just a stupid kiss, anyway. And I win the game if I do it.”

“How do you even win at truth or dare,” Shikamaru mutters.

It’s probably the fact that his blood is now fifty percent sugar that he’s saying the things he’s saying, high on glucose. _Yeah, the sugar_, thinks Naruto as he leans his head back to look up at Sasuke.

There’s a blank expression on the other boy’s face, eyes cautiously searching Naruto’s. Sasuke doesn’t make the first move, and Naruto’s becoming increasingly aware of how hard his heart is pounding so he reaches up and grabs the front of Sasuke’s shirt, tugging him down gently.

Eyes closed, not breathing, he feels Sasuke’s lips touch his own, Sasuke’s hair covering both their faces, the sounds of their friends in the background stifled by the sound of his own heart.

“Youth!” He hears Lee shout.

It lasts for only about a couple of seconds before Sasuke moves away and Naruto sits up straight, hoping his cheeks aren’t as red as he thinks they probably are.

“No big deal.” Naruto shrugs.

“Aw, that reminded me of the time you two kissed when we were genins,” Ino remarks, “Remember that? Tobio accidentally pushed Naruto.”

“Whatever happened to Tobio anyway,” Choji asks, unwrapping another bar of chocolate.

“He’s a teacher now, I think…”

Naruto’s only vaguely aware of the conversation, trying to focus on breathing properly, cheeks still searing. As he reaches for another marshmallow to toast, wanting to find something to occupy himself with, Sasuke leans down near his ear.

“Last time it tasted like miso. This time it’s chocolate and marshmallows.”

And Naruto’s cheeks burn with renewed vigor.


End file.
